The Observer - CD Tchaikovsky/Shostakovich - Stephen Pritchard Thomas Sanderling conducts the brooding Shostakovich second concerto with the authority of one who knew the composer personally

Opera Magazine - The Idiot (Mannheim) - Christopher Ballantine...Orchestral accompaniment - compelling, evocative, strongly delineating - is a vital part of the dramatic action. An exemplary balance between voices and orchestra is a striking feature of Weinberg's score, and under Thomas Sanderling's masterful direction is thrillingly reproduced here.

Wiener Staatsoper - Die Zauberflöte - Wiener Kurier ...a new conductor from Berlin gave us a Mozart full of mysteries... Astonishing!

He grew up in St Petersburg, where his father, the celebrated conductor Kurt Sanderling, was permanent conductor of the St Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra. He graduated from the Music School of the Leningrad Conservatory and went on to study conducting at the Hochschule für Musik in East Berlin, becoming Music Director of the Halle Opera at 24 years old. By his mid-twenties he was conducting in all East Germany's principal orchestras and opera houses, including the Dresden Staatskapelle and the Leipzig Gewandhaus and won the Berlin Critic's Prize for his opera performances at the Komische Oper Berlin. His CD of Shostakovich's Michelangelo Suite (premiere recording) directly lead to his becoming assistant to both Herbert von Karajan and Leonard Bernstein. In the early 1980s he became permanent guest conductor of the Deutsche Staatsoper Unter Den Linden, which led to his successful debut at the Wiener Staatsoper, conducting Die Zauberflöte. Immediately afterwards the Wiener Staatsoper invited him to conduct Le Nozze di Figaro - the first performance after the death of the great Karl Böhm. He has won many prizes and a competition and is particularly renowned for the German, Russian and French orchestral repertory.

Among the orchestras he has conducted are:
BBC Scottish; Baltimore Symphony; Bayerische Rundfunk Symphony Orchestra; Bergen Philharmonic; Bournemouth Symphony; Czech Philharmonic; Dallas Symphony; Deutsches Symphonie Orchester; Dresden Staatskapelle; Dresden Philharmonic; Gewandhaus Orchestra Leipzig; Halle Orchestra UK; Helsinki Philharmonic; Konzerthausorchester Berlin; London Philharmonic; Montreal Symphony; NDR Hamburg Symphony Orchestra; Oslo Philharmonic; Philharmonia Orchestra; Pittsburg Symphony; Royal Liverpool Philharmonic; Royal Philharmonic; Radio Philharmonic Hilversum; Royal Stockholm; St Petersburg Philharmonic; Tchaikowsky Radio Symphony, Moscow; Vancouver Symphony; WDR Symphony Cologne. He is also a regular guest conductor of radio orchestras in Germany. He is chief conductor and artistic director of the Novosibirsk Philharmonic Orchestra, principal guest conductor of the National Philharmonic Orchestra of Russia and the Osaka Symphony awarded him the title of Music Director Laureate for his Lifetime. With this Orchestra he won the Grand Prix of the Osaka Critics twice in three years.

Shostakovich Premieres he has conducted:
He has enjoyed a close relationship with Shostakovich and his family for many years and still works in close collaboration with Irina Shostakovich. He originally met Dmitri Shostakovich whilst making his Moscow debut, conducting the State Orchestra of Russia, on the invitation of Evgeny Svetlanov, as a result of winning a conducting competition in East Germany. Greatly impressed, Shostakovich entrusted him with the translation into German of the texts of the 13th and 14th Symphonies and he conducted the German premieres of both works. He also conducted the world premiere recording of the Michelangelo Suite followed by a concert of the premiere of two British song cycles for which he was responsible for setting the original English text: Six Romances on Verses of British Poets and Anglo-American folk Songs, with the Symphony Orchestra of the Bavarian Radio in Munich, both recorded live and to be released on the Orfeo Label in 2012. At the instigation of Irina Shostakovich he made an Italian original version of the Michelangelo Suite, which is dedicated to her.

Shostakovich Premiers he has recorded:(Deutsche Grammophon)
Two CD recordings for Deutsche Grammophon with Shostakovich Premieres, which became The Editor's Choice in the September 2006 issue of the Gramophone in LondonOriginal Suite from Lady Macbeth of MtsenskEight Waltzes
(Orchestration Boris Tishchenko)Verses of Captain Lebyadkin Op. 146Satires {Pictures of the Past) Op. 100Five Romances on Words from Krokodil Magazine Op. 121
(Orchestration Leonid Dessyatnikov)Preface to the Complete Edition of My Works, Op. 123
Sergei Leiferkus and the Russian Philharmonic Orchestra
Six Romances on Verses by English Poets with the Helsinki Philharmonic  soloist Gerald Finley

Most recently - he recorded for Ondine:SHOSTAKOVICH Six Romances on Verses by English Poets
Scottish Ballad
Suite on Poems by Michelangelo
With Gerald Finley soloist and the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra
WEINBERG The Idiot for Pan Classics - Nationaltheater Mannhim

Recent engagements include:
The Russian premiere of Leonard Bernstein's Symphony No. 3 (Kaddish) at the Grand Festival of the Russian National Orchestra in Moscow. Concert appearances in Berlin, Vienna, Japan Virtuoso Symphony, The St Petersburg Philharmonic and the Tchaikovsky Symphony Moscow, the Helsinki Philharmonic , Svetlanov State Orchestra, recordings with the London Symphony Orchestra and the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra. At the White Nights Festival in St Petersburg he conducted Weinberg’s THE IDIOT for its Russian premiere.